Google Docs editing comes to Apple's iOS, Hulu Plus now $7.99/mo.

Google on Wednesday introduced a new mobile editor for its Google Docs productivity service, while Hulu Plus officially launched with a monthly rate of $7.99, $2 less than it charged during its "preview" phase.

Google Docs for mobile now available

Starting over the next few days, users of Google Docs will be able to access the service on their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch by visiting docs.google.com in the Mobile Safari Web browser. It will support all iOS devices running version 3.0 or later.

The service will initially be available to English-language users around the world, though support for other languages is expected to be added "soon." Users can also edit spreadsheets from their mobile browser with the service.

Changes to documents appear in real time, so that shared documents will show updates for other users on other devices and browsers.

An exclusive feature for Android phones allows users to enter text using their voice.

Hulu Plus debuts with lower $7.99 monthly rate

Hulu Plus was officially launched Wednesday with a new monthly price of $7.99. Subscribers who enrolled in Hulu Plus during its trial period at $9.99 per month will be given a credit for the difference that will be applied to their next billing cycle.

The company also announced that over the next week it will issue updates for its iPad, iPhone and iPod touch applications, which allow Hulu Plus subscribers to stream content to their Apple devices. The streaming service is also offering one free week trial for all new subscribers.

Hulu Plus launched in late June with a $9.99-per-month subscription price. It works on an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad with Hulu's iOS application, and allows users to watch shows over both Wi-Fi and 3G.

I can watch tv over the air for free, or I can watch on my computer for free, or I can watch selected re-runs on my iPad for $8/month.

Tough call.

Plus, with my TiVo I can watch any TIME I want. A couple of clicks on the remote and I have a "Season Pass" so I don't even have to remember to record the programs I want to watch. I can also watch recorded shows on my iPhone and iPad using Toast. Or pay $96 a year to get that for a limited sub-set of programs? As you say, tough call.

Hulu still has commercials? I bid $0 for any pay service with commercials. Yes, my cable is gone, so it applies to that as well. That is my own personal line in the sand. So I'll stick with netflix and iTunes.

re Google docs: could someone kindly explain to me what Google gets out of that arrangement? They provide access to and use of their web applications for no charge - is that right? So what's in it for them?

Believe nothing, no matter where you heard it, not even if I have said it, if it does not agree with your own reason and your own common sense.Buddha

re Google docs: could someone kindly explain to me what Google gets out of that arrangement? They provide access to and use of their web applications for no charge - is that right? So what's in it for them?

Information about you. Your behavior, how long you are on their site, where you go after their site, where you came from before you got to their site. You have to have a gmail login to use service. The more they get you to log in, the more information they have about you. They also want to create some hooks to keep you in the future.

Information about you. Your behavior, how long you are on their site, where you go after their site, where you came from before you got to their site. You have to have a gmail login to use service. The more they get you to log in, the more information they have about you. They also want to create some hooks to keep you in the future.

Ok thanks. As I suspected. Put me down for a big fat 'no' then!

Believe nothing, no matter where you heard it, not even if I have said it, if it does not agree with your own reason and your own common sense.Buddha

I still use their services ... but sometimes they do spook me. I believe some people there should should get jail time for collecting passwords from the wireless networks during the google van drive byes.

I can watch tv over the air for free, or I can watch on my computer for free, or I can watch selected re-runs on my iPad for $8/month.

Tough call.

Almost all of the reviews say this too...

For a start, much of the content on Hulu is not available through 'over-the-air' transmission, only via cable, which you have to pay for (last time I checked). Also, a lot of Hulu's content is new, it's not only re-runs.

I would bet that the vast majority of people who trashed it, didn't even try the subscription.

Having said that, there are some strange restrictions, and the commercials have got out of hand (they now play commercials immediately after the opening credits... easily the dumbest most annoying thing on TV).

re Google docs: could someone kindly explain to me what Google gets out of that arrangement? They provide access to and use of their web applications for no charge - is that right? So what's in it for them?

Google makes almost all their money by exploiting their subscriber's information for marketing revenue (they charge for the odd thing but it is a pittance of their revenue and probably does not even pay the bills.) They will give you any app or service (including domestic calls) for free if you sign on with the devil--and most people see no problem with that. I certainly do.

Google makes almost all their money by exploiting their subscriber's information for marketing revenue (they charge for the odd thing but it is a pittance of their revenue and probably does not even pay the bills.) They will give you any app or service (including domestic calls) for free if you sign on with the devil--and most people see no problem with that. I certainly do.

So either, Google can have my information, or I can give it to Microsoft, my cable company, my phone company, Yahoo, and whoever else wants it. Some of their stuff, like that WiFi password stuff, is no good, but then again, every company (and person, for that matter) has something wrong with them. Google has not done anything irresponsible with this data, I have not had my identity stolen because of Google, and everything they give advertisers is completely anonymous. I keep my eye on them, yes, but I have not seen any reason not to use Google's services.

For a start, much of the content on Hulu is not available through 'over-the-air' transmission, only via cable, which you have to pay for (last time I checked). Also, a lot of Hulu's content is new, it's not only re-runs.

I would bet that the vast majority of people who trashed it, didn't even try the subscription.

Having said that, there are some strange restrictions, and the commercials have got out of hand (they now play commercials immediately after the opening credits... easily the dumbest most annoying thing on TV).

Sadly I wasted dmoney on the preview period. I have a PS3, and even though i had a 22mbps internet connection their 4mbps option would fail because they couldn't keep up with it. It would fall back to youtube quality 500kbps video. This is on top of the fact PS3 users only got a small subset of the content that was available on the website.

I agree. Since I started using DropBox, I've not been to my Docs account once. Word processing in a browser window = lame.

I will agree with you that Google Docs is pretty subpar, but if you haven't tried out the Microsoft Office Web Apps that you get access to with Office 2010, you are missing something. As far as cloud productivity suites go, they are second to none, at least in my opinion.

So either, Google can have my information, or I can give it to Microsoft, my cable company, my phone company, Yahoo, and whoever else wants it. Some of their stuff, like that WiFi password stuff, is no good, but then again, every company (and person, for that matter) has something wrong with them. Google has not done anything irresponsible with this data, I have not had my identity stolen because of Google, and everything they give advertisers is completely anonymous. I keep my eye on them, yes, but I have not seen any reason not to use Google's services.

First of all, the wifi stuff is a lot worse than "no good." What other company has been caught going around and snooping on people's data right outside their homes? Google is also reportedly partnering with the FEDs and if that does not concern you, it should.

Generally speaking, any company who's only business is to compile dossiers on their customers should be feared, IMHO. This goes for google and facebook especially because it makes them aggressive and risk-taking in that job. Whereas other companies collect your data, and that as well has risk, it is A) spread out amongst them and more importantly B) they sell you hardware, software, and services and risk destroying their business model if they are caught violating your data. Google risks their business model if caught as well, but since it's the only way they have of making money, I'm betting they are going to take more risks as it gets harder to make a buck.

So, the idea of letting google software scan and index your computer, or that you enter sensitive personal data like financial info, sensitive correspondence, and medical records into their cloud apps, well it's probably going to bite people in their arse down the road. That's what I'm saying.

Google docs spreadsheet editing on iPhone is a major failure so far. It's been a long time since I've seen such a poorly implemented piece of software as this. If you thought gDocs was bad on a desktop browser, then you haven't really seen bad. The default new spreadsheet using an iPhone is zero columns and zero rows. You can't just add rows or columns without entering items and it looks like the only place to add new rows is to the bottom. Entering new items on a new doc is clumsy, and you have to manually refresh to see your updated spreadsheet. Equations can't be edited. My attempts to sum a short column of numbers simply failed. I have to ask what failed high school web programming project they stole to make it. This isn't half-baked, it probably hasn't been mixed. I personally find regular gDocs to be useful, this just isn't.